NCERT Class 9 Solutions: Nazims and the Rise of Hitler (India and the Contemporary World-I) Chapter 3– Part 1

After First World War downfall of the imperial Germany started. This is why King Kaiser William II ran away from Germany to Holland holding to his dear life. Parliamentary Parties took this opportunity and formed a Republic on November 1918 which was named as Weimer Republic at meeting arranged in Weimer. Due to the terms forced to accept the Republic by the Allied Forces after defeat of Germany in the First World War this Republic was not received well by the Germans. The Republic had faced many problems and some of them were:

German Losses in Treaty of Versailles

Infographic explaining German Losses in Treaty of Versailles

In June 1919 the Republic was enforced to sign a peace treaty (agreement) at Versailles with terms and conditions very strict and humiliating.

Germany lost its foreign country colonies, 13% of its territories, 75% of its iron and 26% of its coal reserves according to this treaty and it also weakened Germany’s powers by Allied Powers demilitarized Germany.

The Republic was thus was defamed and lost favor in its own people from the beginning.

According to this treaty Germany had to pay 6 billion pounds as war compensation to the Allied Countries.

The Republic of Germany was not able pay such a huge amount even with all the resources so that many Germans blamed the new Weimer Republic for agreeing to these conditions.

In the Conservative Nationalist Circles the Socialists, Catholics, Democrats become the targets of attack due to Germany’s weak position.

Till 1925, Germans couldn’t become a member of the League of Nations due to the opposition of the Allied Powers. Because of all this the Weimer Republic was not accepted in Germany.

Structure of New Governement

Structure of New Governement in the Weimer Republic

Germany mostly fought the war on loans and so it had to pay reparations of war in gold and the Republic was not able to pay war compensations with the depleted gold reserves, scarce resources and crippled economic conditions.

The new Republic had to face a strong opposition from the neighbouring countries due to this situation and have to give its top industrial area, Ruhr to claim the coal reserves.

Overall Germany was facing destruction, starvation, unemployment, total despair in the youth. Situation of hyperinflation was worsened with the Republic proving unsuccessful in resolving these problems of the people.

The world-wide economic crisis of 1929 – 1933 also hit German economy.

Therefore, ever since its formation Weimer Republic faced many difficulties. Actually the Republic was too young and weak to survive the many internal and external problems, finally, in 1933 it failed when Hitler sealed its fate.